Crossing Missouri

Hi all,
What can one say about Missouri, other than they consider themselves "the heartland". We started our journey with a stop in Cape Girardeau, which is situated along the Mississippi River. The best part of the stop, was they had a "SuperWalmart" and we were finally able to food shop!!!!!! Onward to St. Louis, where we stopped at a campground, smack dab in the middle of the city!!!!..okay more like a VERY large parking lot with hook-ups..lol. But it was close to The Arch, and that's really what we wanted to see. Martybear, Mike and I, ventured out to see this amazing structure. For those who have never been there, it is 630 feet HIGH and 630 feet WIDE at its base, they have a great museum that shows not only the building of the Arch,but a history of Westward Migration from St Louis. Okay now we purchase our tickets to RIDE to the top of the Arch, (all must remember MY fear of Heights, and that I tend to be Claustrophobic in real tight spaces)..So here is the visual, they load 5 people into each "CAR" (Marty sat on my lap) and up,up,up we go. Once we reach the top (630 feet up!!!), you exit the car and walk 2 more flights of stairs. to find a space about 10 feet WIDE, filled with bodies!!!!! Once I regained my composure..LOL..I must say it was an absolutely incredible sight. Now one must reverse the process, back down the steps,into the car and down,down,down you go..:) Marty and I were most grateful to be back on solid land!!! Our next stop, was at Finger Lakes State Park outside of Columbia, MO. Beautiful park with electric, but no other hook-ups. So I Dusty and Marty chilled for a few days and Mike got some work done on the coach.
We moved on to Kansas City,KS yesterday and we will see Nan and Don today.
To say we are having a ball, is an understatement...Life is good and we are all enjoying our adventure.
From the road,

Jan,Mike,Martybear and Dustycat

Martybear does Memphis

Hi everyone,
How does one visit Tunica and not make the 20 mile trek to Memphis...well one must go, so off we went..LOL..Memphis, city of BB King and of course Elvis. Our first stop was the visitor's center, where Marty had a photo-op with BB, and saw the BIG statue of Elvis, which was moved inside after being vandalized by tourists. Off for a drive to Graceland,which we passed and said"yes that's Graceland" no folks we did not make a pilgrimage to the home of the King,
Next a stroll down Beale Street, which Marty enjoyed and so did we, typical, shops and restaurants ,but with a jazz flavor. Mike and I had Memphis B'que at a dump on the corner called Blues City Cafe'..some of the best ribs we have had so far. No visit to Memphis would be complete, without a visit to the Peabody Hotel.
The Peabody is an old stately Hotel and absolutely beautiful inside and out. BUT, the main attraction at the Peabody is the "MARCH OF THE DUCKS"..The history of the Ducks goes back to the 1920's, when one night drunk as skunks, the owners and friends brought live decoy ducks back to the hotel and dumped them in the fountain, located in the lobby of the hotel!!!!!..There they remained ,at times being replaced by Frogs and Alligators, but a tradition was born..:)..Each day the Ducks who live on the roof of the Hotel in a Duck Palace..are MARCHED, by the Duckmaster,onto their very own elevator and taken down to the Lobby,where a RED CARPET, is laid out for them to march to the fountain,where they remain, playing swimming and eating for the day. At 5 each evening, the Duckmaster returns, and with great ceremony and fanfare the Ducks, MARCH once again, down the Redcarpet, into the elevator and back home to their rooftop palace..
What an absolute hoot..

Dusty update...she has informed Martybear, that all upcoming trips with Mom and Dad MUST be preapproved by her!!!! Or there will be dire consequences..lol..Martybear smiled and I think may have given her the paw ..:)
From the road,

Jan and Mike

Tunica, MS

Hi all,
We have been in Tunica MS, for the past week, what a cool area..There are 9 casino's built in the area, all are actually FLOATING on water from the Mississippi River!!!! State law mandated that any Casino's built had to be on water, therefore Biloxi. And we all know what happened to Biloxi. So ingenuity of the Casino builder's..they barged in water from the river, made ponds or waterways and built their buildings on top!!!!!
Tunica itself is a great area, nice people and lots of empty land..but the economy is solid and there is very little unemployment. Martybear,Mike and I, took a ride and saw the Riverpark Museum and aquarium. We also took The Tunica Queen a river boat, that does a tour of the Mississippi. The history of the river is amazing, and it wanders from Minnesota to Gulf of Mexico..one would say it sort of meanders, the day we were there the river was at a very high level, due to all the storms in the area, and the storms in the midwest that filter down.
Martybear and Dustycat have been having an ongoing disagreement, actually Dusty is pissed that Marty gets to go with Mom and Dad and she doesn't..LOL...more on this as things develop..:)

From the road,

Jan and Mike

Red Bay, AL

Hi all,
First,most of you are saying"where the hell is Red Bay AL, and why would anyone WANT to go there..LOL.
Well, I will attempt to explain this past WEEK as best I can. We arrived in Red Bay last Tuesday, this is where Tiffin Motorhomes are built, we had a small problem and were told,"sure come on in". Sounds pretty easy, welllllllll, when we arrived psyched to get our small problems fixed, we were informed (with a smile of course) that there were no sites and we would be boondocking on the RUNWAY..so called because it was at one time an airport runway..DUH..There we sat with about 20 of our fellow travelers, waiting for someone,anyone to leave so we could get a full hook-up site. Day 2 dawned ,with no site in sight..LOL..this is when Mike started singing, "Sittin on the runway in red bay al, what a site to see,sittin on the runway waiting for Norris to come and take a look at me"...Everytime the Campground Host rode by,we all stood outside waving our arms and shouting"PICK ME, PICK ME!!!! On day 3 we were moved to site 40!!! Okay ,we now have all the luxuries of home..:)..Finally Friday morning (day 4) Norris came and went through our small list of repairs, and of course with a "Smile", told us he thought it would be Monday before we would get into the EXPRESS Bay !! So off we went to find the Coon Dog Cemetary...Mike Martybear and I,walked through an amazing array of tomb stones dedicated to Coon Dogs!!!!
Ah the express bay ,they do 3 count them 3 hrs of work and if they finish, that's great,if not you go BACK ON THE LIST!!!! We took a tour of the Tiffin Factory on Friday to kill some time and on Saturday (day 5) we drove a part of the Natchez Trace in the pouring RAIN and went to Tupelo MS..whose only claim to fame is, it is the town where Elvis was born!!! Of course one must visit this shrine to the King..and Mike and I not wanting to be cursed with 7 years Bad Luck went..LOL...Sunday (day 6) brought a rainy miserable day, and even the Supermarket was closed, in Red Bay everything is closed on Sunday!!!!! We awoke on Monday (day 7), with great anticipation..:)..today would be THE DAY!!!!!..Off I went to do laundry,while Mike awaited the CALL....you know THE CALL, the one that NEVER came..LOL... Today (day 8) we finally got into the bay..and lo and behold, we do believe we may actually get out of here tomorrow...:), however nothing in Red Bay is as it appears..so Mike, Martybear, Dusty and I, will hopefully be on the road tomorrow.
From the road,
Jan and Mike

Nashville and Onward

Hi y'all,
We have definitely been in the South too long..LOL. .We spent several days in Nashville, and had lunch at a great restaurant called "Aquarium" at Opry Mills with Steve and Sandy Brello. Steve and Mike worked together at Bonsal, and it was wonderful seeing them. The restaurant is actually an Aquarium, with fish and sting rays even an underwater feeder. We wandered around the Grand Ole Opry,but unfortunately it was closed. Downtown Nashville is an interesting city, but we enjoyed the Bicentennial Park far more than the city. This morning we headed out to Red Bay, AL...home of Tiffin Motorhomes, to get some minor things fixed. Okay folks close your eyes and picture this..You pull in to the campground, you go in to register, so far so good..:), then you are informed that you will be parking on the RUNWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..Literally an old runway next to the repair bays..You smile and think this isn't real..well yes ..it is!!!!!!!!..We hope to be moved to a full hook up site perhaps tomorrow..how long we will be here is anyones guess..if any of you guess correctly you win a Kewpie Doll..LOL... Samantha attended a Prom this past weekend..just had to put a picture in of her..:):)
Mike and I would also like to introduce one of our companions who has been traveling with us since we started last year. We have been remiss in not doing this sooner...So with great pleasure we present to all of you Marty...Marty is a little brown teddy bear and he has traveled on the dashboard for the past 2 years....
From the road
Jan and Mike

Marble NC, Visit with Ron and Mary,Pigeon Forge,TN

We visited with an old friend and his wife, Ron and Mary Corchnoy. They have a beautiful home in Copperhill,TN. Copperhill is at the corner of NC, TN and GA. The area is absolutely amazing, with mountains,great landscape and interesting small towns. They took us to many of the areas high points, one being the site of the 1996 summer Olympics,where the white water rafting was held. What a hoot..those who know me well, know how afraid of hieghts I am,well see the picture of us walking across the suspension bridge!!!!!!!!! Mike and I moved on to Pigeon Forge,TN yesterday,and spent today touring the area. We drove to The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and drove Cades Cove. An 11 mile loop, through magnificent scenery, waterways and unfortunately no Black Bears..yes I wanted to see a Black Bear,okay not actually commune with one,just sort of wave and keep going..:). on to Gaitlinburg to see the town and back through the Park to Pigeon Forge. Pigeon Forge,reminds me of a cross between Wildwood,NJ and Orlando,FL on steroids...However, a good stop for a few days. Tomorrow Mike, Dusty and I move on to Nashville. Where we hope to meet up with Steve Brello,an old friend of Mike's.

From the road,

Jan and Mike

From the road

Hi all,
We left Titusville April 3rd, and spent 2 lovely days in St Augustine. The weather was good and we enjoyed a great meal at The Columbia. Onward to Townsend, GA..hmmm, you ask"where is Townsend" well folks beats the heck outta me, but it was a good laundry stop..LOL..next stop Charleston, SC, where Mike's daughter Meghan,her husband and 3 grandchildren, joined us for an overnight. We both love the city and spent sometime roaming old and new haunts. Ahhhh, next came Gaffney,SC for service on the coach..remember Mike promised no fields this year, guess a parking lot behind Frieghtliner doesn't count.:). We are currently in Mt Airy,NC attending a rally with some great folks from IRV2. And tomorrow we head out to Marble,NC, where we will hook up with Ron and Mary Corchnoy,Ron is an OLD friend from High School, and we know how OLD that is..LOL. Princess Dusty is having herself a grand old time, and has even figured out how to play with her toys!!!! Only took her 7 yeras..:)
Hope everyone is well.
From the road
Jan and Mike